My heart sings!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JANUARY 21, 2010
MARFORK, W.Va. – Protestors associated with Climate Ground Zero and Mountain Justice halted blasting on Coal River Mountain today with a three-person tree-sit. David Aaron Smith, 23, Amber Nitchman, 19 and Eric Blevins, 28 are on platforms approximately 60 feet up two tulip poplar trees and one oak tree. They are located next to where Massey Energy is blasting to build an access road to the Brushy Fork Impoundment on its Bee Tree Strip Mine. Their banners state: “Save Coal River Mtn.,” “EPA Stop the Blasting” and “Windmills Not Toxic Spills.”
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Thursday, January 21, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Asbestos....
It's been a long pain-in-the-ass journey, but the asbestos siding is off.
I started removing it back in September, then got the Stop Work notice. I was told by the building department in our ensuing conversation that I couldn't remove any asbestos material myself. After many calls to the DEP, the EPA, and WV Department of something or other, I finally found out that this is true - by law all asbestos abatement in WV must be done my a licensed abatement contractor. However, there is a waiver that homeowners can apply for that allows them to do the work themselves if they own and occupy the dwelling. I applied anyway by submitting the required application in addition to a long statement explaining why I couldn't occupy the house until after the siding was removed the the walls re-framed for the new windows and doors. I mailed it into them on November 13th - a Friday. Weeks went by. After the first 3 weeks I began making weekly calls to three different people at the Dept. who are involved with granting the permits. Two of them never once returned my calls, the third kept saying he didn't know when I would get an answer. Exactly six weeks after submitting my application I received this in my mailbox...
It took them six weeks to tell me that.
So, unwilling to take "no" for an answer, especially after a month and a half, I went down to make a personal visit to Mr. Curtis. I had to maneuver through a security guard and two receptionists to get to him. I got into his office and said "What will it take to persuade you to let me do this?" He pulled out my file. I explained again everything that I had written in my original application. I don't think he had ever actually read it. He said he would reconsider my request.
One week later I found this in my mailbox....
SUCCESS!
I took my waiver downtown to the building department and got my permit.
This past weekend, donning my fashionable HAZ-MAT suit, respirator, and pink vinyl shower cap to keep the asbestos out of my hair and the rain off my glasses, I got to work. Three days later it's off, waiting to be double packed in special, very expensive asbestos disposal bags and hauled to a far-off landfill.
Before:
After:
Soon the lead-paint covered original 100 year-old clapboards will come off as well....
I started removing it back in September, then got the Stop Work notice. I was told by the building department in our ensuing conversation that I couldn't remove any asbestos material myself. After many calls to the DEP, the EPA, and WV Department of something or other, I finally found out that this is true - by law all asbestos abatement in WV must be done my a licensed abatement contractor. However, there is a waiver that homeowners can apply for that allows them to do the work themselves if they own and occupy the dwelling. I applied anyway by submitting the required application in addition to a long statement explaining why I couldn't occupy the house until after the siding was removed the the walls re-framed for the new windows and doors. I mailed it into them on November 13th - a Friday. Weeks went by. After the first 3 weeks I began making weekly calls to three different people at the Dept. who are involved with granting the permits. Two of them never once returned my calls, the third kept saying he didn't know when I would get an answer. Exactly six weeks after submitting my application I received this in my mailbox...
So, unwilling to take "no" for an answer, especially after a month and a half, I went down to make a personal visit to Mr. Curtis. I had to maneuver through a security guard and two receptionists to get to him. I got into his office and said "What will it take to persuade you to let me do this?" He pulled out my file. I explained again everything that I had written in my original application. I don't think he had ever actually read it. He said he would reconsider my request.
One week later I found this in my mailbox....
I took my waiver downtown to the building department and got my permit.
This past weekend, donning my fashionable HAZ-MAT suit, respirator, and pink vinyl shower cap to keep the asbestos out of my hair and the rain off my glasses, I got to work. Three days later it's off, waiting to be double packed in special, very expensive asbestos disposal bags and hauled to a far-off landfill.
Before:
Friday, January 1, 2010
partial roof re-do?
Looks like the second story idea isn't going to work out. I would have to replace all of the ceiling joists with larger ones then replace every rafter in addition to the entire roof deck. However, I would still like to replace just the front section of roof - Partly because the framing under there is a complete mess from several past changes, and partly because I just think the front of the house is ugly shaped the way it is. Rebuilding just this front section would also allow me to get rid of an obnoxious load-bearing wall that's running right down the middle of the future 2nd bedroom... and, since I'm not making living space up there the existing ceiling joists can stay as-is....Here's what it looks like now (sort of).......
Here's what I want it to look like (sort of)......
Much better, right.....More symmetrical, more balanced. Slightly steeper pitch - more room for insulation.
Also, the interior floor plan (long in coming) is finally nearing completion. It's gone through several alterations throughout the past couple of months and now has matured into it's final form. The only room as yet unresolved is the master bath....
Here's one structure I didn't need any permits, drawings or cardboard models for....
and a beautiful sunset, just because....
Also, the interior floor plan (long in coming) is finally nearing completion. It's gone through several alterations throughout the past couple of months and now has matured into it's final form. The only room as yet unresolved is the master bath....
Here's one structure I didn't need any permits, drawings or cardboard models for....
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Last Coal Miner out of WV turn out the Lights!
I attended the rally at the DEP headquarters in Charleston on Monday to demand an end to
blasting on Coal River Mountain. I had the opportunity to speak with several miners there
including a friendly Massey Employee from Mingo county. He told me that without coal mining there
would be nothing- no jobs, no money. Without coal mining he would have to leave his home to look
for work elsewhere. He supports MTR because it supports him and his family. At least in the
short term. And while we disagreed on MTR, we could agree that politicians are worthless.
But it got me thinking because I hear the same points over and over - There is no
alternative, without mining we'd have nothing. Many say they would love to get out of
mining, if only there were something else.
Do I need to point out that there are people living in rural areas all over this country that
aren't dependent on coal mining to survive? You miners complain about the lack of options,
of alternatives but you've got to make it happen. You complain endlessly about the "outsiders" interfering in your business but you want the same "outsiders" to give you another job. Stop waiting for someone else to do it for you. YOU make it happen, Take responsibility for diversifying the economy of southern West
Virginia. Start farming (all that flat land down there now, right!), start sustainable
forestry operations, fight for federal funds for mine and stream reclamation work, make
furniture, whatever. Why not? All of our ancestors had to make their own way in these
hills before mining and if there's any clean water left our descendants will have to make
their own way after the mining stops. With those fat miner paychecks you ought to be able to put aside something to help start a business with.
The miner's I've talked with (the ones that haven't tried to shout me out anyway) seem to be
decent people. When it comes down to it I think that most all of us want the same basic
things. We want the ability to provide for our families, we want to be free and healthy, we
want good food to eat, clean water to drink, and clear air to breath. These are things we
all want because they are necessary for our survival. The issue is that some people believe
that they can have these things and have coal mining too. I disagree. The coal mining areas
of our state tend to be the sickest, they have the dirtiest air, the foulest water. I've
personally walked through the playground at Marsh Fork elementary and had my feet blackened
with coal dust. I've seen the bags and bags of coal dust samples taken from the sides of
homes in the coal river valley. I've seen the blackwater spills that poison the streams.
Sure, several thousand miners are making a good paycheck, but we all suffer for it with our
health.
To be fair, coal mining isn't the only problem we face. Many miners told me that they feel
that mining is being unfairly targeted. Why aren't we going after the gas companies that are
wrecking people's wells, or the raw sewage going into so many streams, or the chemical
companies in the Kanawha valley? It's a good point, and I hope we are able to deal with all
of these issues in turn, but we have to start somewhere, and that somewhere is with coal.
blasting on Coal River Mountain. I had the opportunity to speak with several miners there
including a friendly Massey Employee from Mingo county. He told me that without coal mining there
would be nothing- no jobs, no money. Without coal mining he would have to leave his home to look
for work elsewhere. He supports MTR because it supports him and his family. At least in the
short term. And while we disagreed on MTR, we could agree that politicians are worthless.
But it got me thinking because I hear the same points over and over - There is no
alternative, without mining we'd have nothing. Many say they would love to get out of
mining, if only there were something else.
Do I need to point out that there are people living in rural areas all over this country that
aren't dependent on coal mining to survive? You miners complain about the lack of options,
of alternatives but you've got to make it happen. You complain endlessly about the "outsiders" interfering in your business but you want the same "outsiders" to give you another job. Stop waiting for someone else to do it for you. YOU make it happen, Take responsibility for diversifying the economy of southern West
Virginia. Start farming (all that flat land down there now, right!), start sustainable
forestry operations, fight for federal funds for mine and stream reclamation work, make
furniture, whatever. Why not? All of our ancestors had to make their own way in these
hills before mining and if there's any clean water left our descendants will have to make
their own way after the mining stops. With those fat miner paychecks you ought to be able to put aside something to help start a business with.
The miner's I've talked with (the ones that haven't tried to shout me out anyway) seem to be
decent people. When it comes down to it I think that most all of us want the same basic
things. We want the ability to provide for our families, we want to be free and healthy, we
want good food to eat, clean water to drink, and clear air to breath. These are things we
all want because they are necessary for our survival. The issue is that some people believe
that they can have these things and have coal mining too. I disagree. The coal mining areas
of our state tend to be the sickest, they have the dirtiest air, the foulest water. I've
personally walked through the playground at Marsh Fork elementary and had my feet blackened
with coal dust. I've seen the bags and bags of coal dust samples taken from the sides of
homes in the coal river valley. I've seen the blackwater spills that poison the streams.
Sure, several thousand miners are making a good paycheck, but we all suffer for it with our
health.
To be fair, coal mining isn't the only problem we face. Many miners told me that they feel
that mining is being unfairly targeted. Why aren't we going after the gas companies that are
wrecking people's wells, or the raw sewage going into so many streams, or the chemical
companies in the Kanawha valley? It's a good point, and I hope we are able to deal with all
of these issues in turn, but we have to start somewhere, and that somewhere is with coal.
the church is down...
After eight consecutive 12 hour days of labor of a most difficult variety, I managed to haul out all the lumber I had salvaged and stacked in the church, just hours before the demolition. I got the oak floor and the subfloor, and about a dozen 2x12 joists. With a few more days I could have knocked out the remaining 50 or so joists as well as the last of the t&g pine unstairs, but I'm pretty happy with what I managed to get out. I was told by the church pastor on friday evening that the church board decided they did not want anyone working over there on sunday (the day before demo). It IS the lord's day after all. Even if that means many trees worth of lumber will be sent to the landfill rather than be reused and given a new life. On sunday, as I rested (and on the seventh day...) I thought about this. I thought about how, in addition to jesus dying for them, the many trees that formed their church, their shelter, their place of worship,, also died for them. Living, breathing trees gave their lives so that folks could worship god in a dry warm room. It only seems right to honor those trees by giving them new life rather than unceremoniously dumping them in the trash. I didn't complain though (at least not to them) as I am grateful that they gave me the opportunity to salvage what I did.
I cheated a bit by going back sunday night at 10pm to start hauling rather that waiting for midnight and official monday. By 3am monday I was done. By noon the church was gone. At one I took a nap. Now it's back to the house.....
I cheated a bit by going back sunday night at 10pm to start hauling rather that waiting for midnight and official monday. By 3am monday I was done. By noon the church was gone. At one I took a nap. Now it's back to the house.....
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Racing against time, snow, the demolition man....
I recently stumbled into a goldmine of free material. Thousands of square feet of oak and pine hardwood floors, 1x6 pine subfloor, 2x8 and 2x10 joists, 2x4s, etc. There's only one catch. I have possibly as little as one more day to get out what I can before the demolition man comes with his giant machinery to tear the building to shreds and haul it away. While I was away for thanksgiving week another guy began removing the roof to get at the roof sheathing and rafters. At this point half the roof is gone and it's supposed to rain and snow the rest of the week. I've worked frantically, fanatically the last three days removing flooring. I am so exhausted that I fell asleep twice while reading the kids their bedtime storybook then fell asleep again in the shower. I am hallucinating. All I can think about is lumber lumber lumber lumber..... I'm going to bed.
*UPDATE WED 12/02: demolition man has POSTPONED until monday! Yeehaw!
*UPDATE WED 12/02: demolition man has POSTPONED until monday! Yeehaw!
Monday, November 23, 2009
long day...
I really like the feel of the house with everything opened up. I would love to keep it this way and I've been considering some options. In order to make it work I would have to remove the entire roof structure and rebuild it with a steeper pitch and some dormers to make room for an upstairs. Would it be worth it? It would be a hell of a lot of extra work, but it would make for a really open and roomy main level.
The ceiling joists are 2x6s, 16 inches apart. To meet code for second story living space I would probably have to remove them and replace with 2x8s or larger.
I'll need to talk to the building department to find out exactly what they'll require for a second story addition.
It may not be in the cards for this house....we'll see.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
good finds and dumpster dives...
I've always wanted a urinal. My dreams came true when I got this one from a church that's being torn down in St. Albans. It makes me happy to know that countless churchgoers have used the urinal that will be in our house and while I'll never know if they found redemption in all those Sunday mornings, I can be certain they at least found relief.
I'm also receiving, for free, about 2,000 square feet of tongue and groove oak hardwood flooring. I started pulling it up a few days ago. I have no idea where I will store it all.
Last night at a construction dumpster I found this great bike rack that we can lock our bikes to...
And today I found some little pencil drawings on the underside of a piece of old pine flooring that I pulled up from the old kitchen.
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